A HIGH Court judge yesterday rejected a bid to postpone the eviction date of a group of gipsies living on an unauthorised site near Eckington.

The collection of 11 families were ordered to leave the land by last Friday, following an enforcement notice appeal last October. Wychavon District Council was forced to delay committal proceedings for the group, after learning about their last ditch attempt to stay on the B4080 Tewkesbury Road site.

Ian Marshall, Wychavon's head of legal services attended the court hearing in London with the council's managing director Jack Hegarty.

They strongly contested the appeal application and Mr Marshall had earlier described the move as 'close to an abuse of the court process'.

He said: "This is getting close to an abuse of the court process. In January they (the gipsies) tried to get this date postponed and their appeal was rejected.

Now they have left it until the last minute to get another application in."

The group, who have threatened to pull up in the village if they are ejected from the site, caused outrage when they arrived last May. Despite having no planning permission for the land, which they own, they proceeded to rip up ancient hedgerows and install water and electricity supplies.

The gipsies claim they were forced to act because of a lack of suitable official sites.

They now consider the land their home and claim a forced eviction would effect the education of their children, many of whom attend local schools and playgroups.